


Armistice

by sharklion



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-05 10:51:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3117428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharklion/pseuds/sharklion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You're a ridiculously simple soul.  It's ridiculous.  But I can't drag you down with me."</p>
<p>In another world, Yuuma keeps his promise to Vector.  The cost is not as high as expected, and the world beyond not as harsh.  Somehow, everything still works out okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Yeah, let's do it, Shingetsu."

"You are not alone."

"I'll protect you."

(The words reverberate and shake loose memories in his skull, Shingetsu Rei's memories. The school days, the whole act, and every single tick of a moment he spent with Yuuma, then. Stupid, easily manipulated, obnoxious, _endlessly forgiving_ Tsukumo Yuuma.)

"Shingetsu?!" He hears disbelief, and his voice edging higher into the edge of panic as Vector removes one hand from his. He doesn't meet his eyes.

"You're a ridiculously simple soul. It's ridiculous. But I can't drag you down with me."

"Hey— Shingetsu!" How is he upset, even after all this?

Vector doesn't drag Yuuma down with him, and it's a moment of clarity not spurred by kidness but another kind of madness— he can't win here. Terror has already fled, and vindictive instinct is old bile at the back of his abused throat. The hand tight around his own wasn't offering to save only his _life_ , he couldn't dash Yuuma's hopes by killing them both. Isn't that just the fucking thing? He'd die with Vector like it would redeem the tainted shreds of his soul, the hardened shards of his heart. No matter how many times, over and over and _over_ and _**over**_ Yuuma would forgive him. 

_So he won't give Yuuma the chance_ — he'll die here— alone. There's n _o_ thing to be done, his life will be devoured here, like his heart, his soul, and there is not a _single thing_ Yuuma can do to stop it. He's desperate, but this last act of desperation will grant him the _win_. It will illuminate, finally, Vector's true rotted core and douse that flicker of hope that Yuuma refused to let die.

Except. There's no heat to any of it.

"This is farewell." He lets his hand slack, go loose from Yuuma's grip. He's calm when he smiles, and shapes his mouth softly, like Shingetsu would have, around his final words. "Yuuma-kun." 

You left me to die alone, Yuuma-kun. I _win_ —

Two arms fasten around his waist, as Yuuma launches himself from the remnants of the stone platform. His belt, (duel-disk, deck, and gazer in its pouches) and the emperor's key were divested and thrown over his shoulder at Kotori in a single smooth motion before he leapt, because he knows everyone was counting on him and— she'd been with him so long, he counted on her, too. He has no idea if Shingetsu will hear him over the gale, muffled, talking into his stomach, but Yuuma tells him, "I _said_ I'll protect you."

Oh.

There's no time to be hysterical, to laugh. There's no time for much of anything at all. Vector drops his head and his arms around Yuuma, and murmurs, "You win," to him. "You've won."

Then, there is nothing more for either of them.

\---

There is something heavy on top of him. Vector's first instinct is to kick it off. In the fogged amnesia of waking up, he does and is rewarded with the sound of, "Ow!" in a familiar (idiot's) voice, and it all comes back to him at once. Somehow, they're not dead. Dead any longer, at least.

Don Thousand must have lost. Serves the bastard right, is all that processes beyond that, and Vector opens his eyes to the wreckage of bricks and crystals, exactly where they'd died. He turns onto his side, towards where he kicked the other off of him and sits up, before he asks in Shingetsu's voice, "Yuuma-kun?" 

"Shingetsu?" answers him back. "Shingetsu!" And Yuuma topples him over, crying, squeezing him like he was about to drop dead in his arms any second. (but he'd just _finished_ that, Vector wasn't about to do that again.) It takes him another second to realize something's wrong. "Hey. . ." he reaches up to his own face, without disentangling himself from Vector, "Where'd it go?"

"Barians don't have mouths," Vector tells him, needlessly, because at this point it's obvious. "Did you forget?"

"I knew that part. The part where I'm a Barian, that's what's weird!" But Yuuma doesn't seem bothered by it, just interested and confused. He scooted back slightly from embracing Vector, still in his lap but sitting up now, with enough space between them to investigate his own changed form— tapping a claw against his crest, the jewels, reaching back around to his new wings— like Hope's— and holding his hand in front of his face where he can see the difference. "What gives?"

"You see, when a human dies with lots of chaos in their heart in the itty-bitty last few moments they have before they croak—" Vector starts, condenscending and mocking before Yuuma shoves at his shoulder. 

"I know that too! I mean, Don Thousand was here and then he ate us. People might come back as Barians but you're here too—" suddenly excited more than confused again, Yuuma looked around searching for something, expectantly, "Shark and Kotori and Astral! They must have won and put everything back!"

It's damn well not likely, Vector knows Nasch and he knows that pig-headed pride the way he shackles himself to lost causes— and the astral being, that _existed_ for the sake of eradcating the Barian world. That the Barian world is here, that reeks of Nasch's doing. The only surprise is that he'd bother bringing _Vector_ back, but the girl had been there too— he might have made that concession to her, but he doubts she'd care either. It had to be Nasch, making some kind of point. But the point is, Vector keeps his (metaphorical) mouth shut, and doesn't correct Yuuma. 

He doesn't say anything to him at all.

He turns away, and tries to jostle him off on top of him with his wings, roughly shoving at him.

"Hey-- Vector, ow!" Yuuma protests and moves, "You could have just told me to get off."

"Oops." He doesn't bother with sincerity, or Shingetsu's voice. "Go on, your precious Sharky will kiss it better! Or the girl, if you're into that."

Yuuma looks down at Vector, and bounces down to his level. He examines him for a moment, Vector's body turned away from him, his violet eyes narrowed in distaste. When he's not faking it, he's almost _too_ expressive. "Nah," he announces, after studying him. He doesn't sit back on top of him, but he stays there, crouching down, besides him. "Shark's probably really busy right now. Being an Emperor, right? And he has to catch up with his sis— she's really scary when she's mad, and I bet she's really mad. We can visit some other time."

Vector turns to look at him, disbelief and irritation warring— he doesn't need the pity, but that Yuuma picked him over his friends, how _stupid_ could someone be and— Yuuma smiles, holding out a hand. "She's not gonna be mad at me. I meant you. I can't protect you if I'm not by you, right?"

He takes Yuuma's hand— "Shingetsu— wait— hey hey hey hey—," and uses it to pull him down, letting him trip and flail on top of him as he protested, arms wheeling as he overbalanced before crashing on top of Vector again, in a heap. But once he recovered, he perked back up, his face obnoxiously close and asked, "So that's a yes, right?"

There wasn't anything else for it, really.

"It's a yes," he agreed. "Now let's blow this joint, if Nasch shows up I'm skipping the sappy stuff and killing him for bringing me back to leave me with _you_."

"Vector!" Yuuma protested, as got to his feet again.

This time, Vector stood beside him, and his voice was approving as he told him, "Yeah, that's right. _Vector_." He leaned over, a casual arm around Yuuma's shoulder, and leered, "If you were hoping I'd play Shingetsu for forever, _too bad_."

But Yuuma just laughed and shook his head. Vector, you're not as different as you think, he didn't say. It was weird not having a mouth to grin with, but his eyes crinkled closed, and he told him, "Nope! It's not too bad at all."


	2. Chapter 2

Things are different now. Things like, the color of the sky above, and the way walking feels with wings at his back. His body is heavier, skin tougher, and his balance is all off. It's a lot like what Yuuma imagines it would be like to grow up all at once. He's not sure he's ready for it, but it's not in the Kattobing spirit to let that stop him. 

So he steps forward and grabs Vector's hand, to pull him along too. The unfamiliar vastness of the Barian world spreads forth before him, but he's not here alone. The two of them will figure it all out together. "Hey, what's that over there? You lived here forever, so you've gotta know!" 

"It's a rock."

Or okay, they'll figure it out together when Vector doesn't feel like being a jerk. Which might be never. But also might _not_ be never, because it's impossible to predict these things with Vector. 

"Shingetsu— You're not even looking." At least not where he wanted him to look. Vector's gaze was locked on their interlaced hands, and Yuuma's face would have heated if Barian physiology worked that way. It hadn't been distracting until Vector made it distracting but of course he has a talent for taking the mundane and taking it traitorous. (And making weird insinuations, too.) But he decided to save him, and stay with him, so he's just going to have to live with it. What else could he do, now, anyway? It's not like he could go and take it back.

So instead of pulling away, he squeezes tighter. 

It's hard to smother a laugh when Vector decides that's too weird (now, after all the times he dragged him around as Shingetsu) and looks away, trying to shake Yuuma's hand off his. He then gestures with his free hand, like that was all he wanted his other one for, even though they both know better. "It's a rock. They're all rocks." He pointed to the left, and then wildly to the right, "Here a rock, there a rock," then put their interlocked hands to his own chest, and shoved them back at Yuuma, "I'm rock, you're rock, everything in the Barian world is rocks!"

"It's not a rock!" he protests, stubbornly.

" _Not_ a rock?" Curiosity piques Vector's attention and his voice climbs up into the insincerity of Shingetsu's excitement. "Did you take us to the Sea of Ill Intent, Yuuma-kun? If you find all this to be really stressful, you should really go in and take a dip! I find it's great for taking a good chunk of weight off your shoulders!" He flaps his wings and laughs in some private joke, and Yuuma is _pretty sure_ he doesn't want to know.

"No, it's not your sea-thingy." And then he realizes he's the only thing blocking Vector's view, and steps aside. Standing beside Vector instead of front of him, he tells him, "No more excuses! But you see? It's a castle! It kinda looks like your castle on Earth, actually. Did you rebuild it here? That's weird, since you were missing your memories and everything." 

Vector actually looks, this time. He blinks like he's not quite sure what he's looking at, squints, and then opens his eyes wide like that will make it clearer.

Then he gives a slow, speculative, " _Huuuuh._ " 

Which is the most ominous thing Yuuma's heard him say since he woke up alive, again.

"Shingetsu?"

Slowly, savoring it, Vector eases into the conversation casually. "Nasch sure has been keeping himself busy while we were out." A hunter waiting for the bait to be taken. 

But Yuuma's bad at telling that sort of thing, so he walks right into that one. He leaps on the words as soon as Vector's spoken them. "What's that supposed to mean? Shark did something?" 

Vector snickers, lowly. Their clasped hands have loosened, and he could have both his hands to gesture with now, but he keeps his in Yuuma's grasp while waving with the other. "Or a lot of somethings. It looks like Nasch has been doing some conquering with his redecorating. The crystal lotuses are new, sure, but. . ." his voice turned serious for a single note before then bouncing back up again, "Home sweet murder castle home! So hey, how much of Earth do you think Nasch took along for the ride? This is the best cure to homesickness I've ever seen. I might be _impressed_." 

"Shark wouldn't—!" he starts and stops, abruptly.

He's lost human physiology, so his throat doesn't dry and he doesn't choke when he looks around and realizes Vector is right— Vector might tell an obvious lie to see his reaction, his face fall for just moment, but. . . But his own eyes quickly confirm it— he'd thought so in the first place, and had wanted Vector to laugh at him and tell him different. To tell Yuuma he was being dumb, _of course_ he couldn't have built it here, and it was just coincidence. Besides, what good would a dinky little castle do the Barians? _Emperors_ , Yuuma-kun, we can do much better than that. Then he could protest and say this one looks cool anyway, and maybe drag him along to explore.

But the crumbling nightmare visage of the castle is unmistakable, even as stalks of crystal shot it through, blooming into strange stone lotuses. And Vector had only confirmed it, not made his worries leave. 

There's no sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach but something is metallic and hot in his veins and it burns into the crest that adorns his chest. It feels worse than that. He trusts Shark, but his blood sings and he doesn't always trust the right people, he knows that. He turns around, eyes wild and teary, and suddenly demands of Vector, "You do the teleporting thing, right? Can you bring me with you?" 

He remembers Vector taking his Shingetsu clone to kidnap him, and doesn't wait for a response, just nods as if he'd already spoken. "Good. Then we're going to Heartland." 

He believes in Shark, he really does.

But he believes in himself, too. Just because he puts others first doesn't mean he doesn't count at all.

Vector is watching him carefully, before his face creases and eyes widen in what's probably his Barian equivalent of a grin, manic and wide. "Are you _worried_?" He enunciates the word like it's a hersey and he's a particularly enthusiastic devil, caressing each part of it.

"Yeah!" Vector is visibly taken aback, and Yuuma rolls his eyes. "Come on, or I'm gonna figure out how to do it without you!"

And he listens, this time. A sweep of power, chaos, and light takes the ground from beneath them, and for a moment where they're not anywhere to be found at all.


End file.
